Dr. Zeinab Hosseinidoust

Overview

We address the global crisis of antimicrobial resistant superbugs by using bacteriophages, good viruses that are bacteria's natural predators. These natural antimicrobials can be designed to act as tiny soldiers that only kill the bad bacteria and leave our good bacteria (the ones we need for our health and well-being) intact. We also pack bacteriophages into solid form to design antimicrobial biomaterials, gels and coatings. In addition, because bacteriophages are so good at targeting their prey (bacteria) in nature, we use them to design novel methods of detecting and diagnosing infectious diseases.  Our research spans across multiple disciplines and integrates engineering with molecular biology, materials science, and chemistry. To learn more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram. You can also visit the Resources page on my lab website to learn more about bacteriophages.

Research Platforms

Platform A: Phage Antimicrobials

We use bacteriophages for their inherent property, as bacterial killers. We use bacteriophages to fight common infections, biofilm infections, and specifically those that are antibiotic resistant. 

​Platform B: Phage Biomaterials

in their simplest form, bacteriophages are bionanoparticles than can propagate themselves and self assemble. These properties make bacteriophages more powerful than synthetic nanoparticles.

​Platform C: Phage Diagnostics

Bacteriophages are very effective at finding and specifically targeting their host bacteria in nature. We use this property to design better diagnostic tools.